Playoff Hopes, Job Security and Recruiting All Up In The Air For USC Trojans

The USC Trojans have their backs against the wall with five games left in the season. Sitting with a 5-2 record, the Trojans can make or break their season with a strong end to the year, but it won't be easy with a couple of tough opponents remaining.

Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley talks with players during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans are sitting with a 5-2 record a little more than halfway through the 2025 season. It's not the hot start to the season many USC fans were expecting, but the Trojans are still in the thick of the College Football Playoff hunt with five games left to go in the season.

Here are three reasons why the Trojans need to finish out the season on a strong note, otherwise things could look interesting heading into the offseason.

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1. College Football Playoff Hopes

Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley celebrates after kicker Ryon Sayeri (48) hit a 54-yard field goal in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Despite sitting with two losses, the Trojans are not completely knocked out of the CFP race. With a single conference loss to Illinois, USC is skating on thin ice and can't afford to drop another game the rest of the way.

The Trojans will be an underdog in at least one remaining game and that will be when they travel to Oregon on Nov. 22. The Ducks are currently the No. 6 team in the country according to the AP Top 25 poll and will be a tough test for USC, who hasn't beaten Oregon since 2016 and hasn't won in Eugene since 2011.

One more loss will assuredly knock out USC from CFP contention, which is why they must win out if they want to reach the playoff.

2. Recruiting

Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

If USC's season begins to fall apart in their final five games, the repercussions could extend onto the recruiting trail.

Recruiting is one of the most volatile things in college sports. One week things could be smooth sailing, the next week everything can get quickly thrown out of sync.

With NIL being a key factor in recruitments in today's age, wins and losses don't matter nearly as much as it used to. However, recruits notice losing just as much as they notice winning.

USC has the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle according to 247Sports' rankings. If the losses pile up for the Trojans, some recruits may decide to jump ship before signing. It's imperative for the future of the program for them to keep their 2026 recruiting class in tact.

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3. Job Security

Oct 11, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks off the field following the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

If USC ends this season on a losing skid, Riley should seriously begin to worry for his job security. In this day and age of college football, losing is hardly tolerable, especially at major college football jobs like USC.

Just take a look at Penn State, UCLA, and Florida. Three programs who quickly cut their losses at head coach following disastrous starts to the season. Penn State in particular is fascinating to look at because of the buyout they owed James Franklin after firing him. The Nittany Lions were willing to eat up nearly 50 million dollars for Franklin to not coach the team.

A bad end to 2025 and a slow start to 2026 could be enough for USC to decide to cut bait and move on from Riley.